Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray is in the midst of a phenomenal season. Murray is also in the midst of his last season under contract with the Dallas Cowboys.
Yes, despite Murray's 1,606 rushing yards (5 yards per carry), nine touchdowns and 53 receptions for 392 yards, the fringe MVP candidate is slated to hit the open market following this season. The Cowboys are perennially cash strapped and must also figure out a way to muster together a lucrative extension for star wide receiver Dez Bryant. I hate to play the pessimist, but it appears as if Murray's time in Dallas is coming to a close.
Murray is on pace for 394 carries and 69 receptions. For those of you that are as bad at math as I am, that's 463 total touches, an astronomical workload for any running back, let alone one who has never played a complete season since being drafted in 2011. But is Murray's prodigious workload all part of an evil, mustache-twirling plot hatched by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones? Grantland's Bill Barnwell seems to think something along those lines.
"You do that if you're the Cowboys for one of three reasons," Barnwell said of Murray's large workload in a lopsided win against the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day. "One, you have no regard for player safety or long-term sustainability whatsoever and can't look past giving anybody but Murray the football in any situation. I don't think Garrett and the Cowboys are that naive. Two, you're desperate for Murray to get to this statistical landmark and want to get him as many carries as possible in the hopes of hitting 2,000 yards. That's not ideal, but it's plausible.
"The third reason is that you have no intention of re-signing Murray after the season and have no qualms about running him into the ground during his final season with the team, like how the Brewers tried to pitch CC Sabathia's arm off when they had him for that half-season in 2008. The more I watch what the Cowboys are doing - and think about the likelihood that Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch join Murray in this year's free-agent running back class - the more I think they're just getting every last drop out of a player who won't be in a Cowboys uniform next year."
Aha! The plot doth thicken.
Given the availability of cheap and productive options at the running back position, it's a no-brainer for the Cowboys to prioritize Bryant over Murray. But that also begs the question, what would Murray get on the open market?
He's only 26 years old but he's missed 11 games through his first three seasons in the NFL. Obviously, a 2,000- yard season this year would be impressive. But 400-plus touches raises serious questions about his long-term effectiveness. Would a RB-needy team like the Indianapolis Colts overpay for the likes of Murray? Will Dallas end up re-signing him?
We'll just have to wait and find out.